Rainbow and Yovimpa Viewpoints

Start your auto tour at these northern viewpoints, which provide a nice overview of the park's geology.

Plan Around Rainbow and Yovimpa Viewpoints

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Rainbow and Yovimpa Viewpoints Details

First-time visitors to Bryce Canyon National Park will be tempted to pull into the first overlook they see, but park officials recommend that you start by driving all the way to the south end of the park and working your way back toward the visitor center. That means that Rainbow Point would be your first view of the canyon. Safety is the main reason for the suggestion -- driving south, all of the pullouts will be on the right side of the road, minimizing the risk of crashes due to crossing traffic -- but aesthetically it's not a bad plan, either. From the wooded, high-elevation Rainbow Point you get a nice view of the Pink Cliffs, the ancient sandstone formation that gives birth to Bryce Canyon's famous hoodoos. You'll also be able to see the Grand Staircase, the series of stepped plateaus created by tectonic uplift that has given us Bryce, the Grand Canyon, and the canyons and rock formations of Zion National Park. The short path to Yovimpa Point offers another perspective on the Grand Staircase and several of its steps: the Pink Cliffs you're standing on, the Grey Cliffs below the overlook, and the White Cliffs in the distance, marked by the 7,264-foot peak known as Molly's Nipple. Also visible from Yovimpa Point are the distant red rocks that comprise the Vemilion Cliffs and, even further off, the Kaibab Plateau where the north rim of the Grand Canyon is located.

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Low

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